Dodging a Korean Summit Failure Trump was right to call off a meeting that could have been a debacle.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/dodging-a-korean-summit-failure-1527203552
Donald Trump described his decision Thursday to nix his June summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un as a “tremendous setback” for North Korea and the world, but the better word might be relief. Mr. Trump had overestimated Kim’s willingness to give up his nuclear weapons and was heading toward a summit failure.
In a letter to Kim announcing his withdrawal, Mr. Trump cited “the tremendous anger and open hostility” in Kim’s “recent statement.” But the real problem is substance, not tone. As North Korea’s recent comments made clear, the North hasn’t decided to give up its nuclear weapons. The North continues to define denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula as a process of arms control that includes the departure of America’s presence in South Korea. Like his father and grandfather, Kim wants sanctions relief and other benefits in return for nuclear promises his country has never honored.
Mr. Trump agreed to the summit in part because South Korean President Moon Jae-in misrepresented the North’s position after talks with Kim’s sister at the Winter Olympics. After claiming Kim had a change of heart about nuclear weapons, Mr. Moon pursued his plan to resurrect the Sunshine Policy of appeasement toward the North that failed in the 2000s.
This created a peace euphoria in the South that pushed the Trump Administration to explore the opening to preserve the alliance. Mr. Trump was ill-advised to agree to the summit so readily and without much planning, and he compounded the error by talking up its prospects. He might have gone to a summit that gave Kim a diplomatic victory for nothing in return. But perhaps the experience has taught the President that Mr. Moon and Kim have different priorities than his goal of complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization.
Mr. Trump said the U.S. will now continue with its “maximum pressure” campaign against the North, but the international consensus will have to be revived. Even without the summit, Kim scored a major propaganda victory by playing the peacemaker. This week he invited foreign journalists to witness the closure of the North’s nuclear test site at Punggye-ri.
But this means little since new tunnels can be dug elsewhere. The North used previous negotiations as cover to continue its nuclear and missile programs in secret. Recent satellite photos show the North is building a new facility to make launchers for the Hwasong-15 intercontinental missile that can hit the U.S.
The summit planning also allowed China to repair relations with Kim and relax restrictions on border trade without diplomatic costs. Mr. Trump has criticized Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s influence because Kim took a harder line after the second recent Xi-Kim meeting. Mr. Xi publicly endorsed Kim’s position demanding phased and synchronized steps toward denuclearization. Mr. Trump will now have to consider tougher economic sanctions on Chinese firms that do business with North Korea.
Mr. Trump held out to Kim the prospect of new talks “if you change your mind.” But it will take time to repair the damage and get the maximum pressure campaign of sanctions and diplomatic pressure back on track. At least the President realized the danger and dodged a summit.
Comments are closed.
